Identifying Aquaculture Opportunity Areas in U.S. Waters. Comments accepted through Monday, September 14, 2026.

Identifying Aquaculture Opportunity Areas in U.S. Waters

DATES:

Interested persons are invited to submit written comments on or before September 13, 2026. Three webinar-based listening sessions are scheduled. Comments on each topic area will be accepted at all meetings:

1. August 6, 2026, 6 p.m. to 7 p.m. Pacific (PDT)

2. August 13, 2026, 12 p.m. to 1 p.m. Hawaii (HST)

3. August 31, 2026, 3 p.m. to 4 p.m. Eastern (EDT) (English and Spanish)

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

On May 7, 2020, the President signed an E.O. on Promoting American Seafood Competitiveness and Economic Growth (E.O. 13921). The E.O. calls for the expansion of sustainable U.S. seafood production. Building on this foundation, the President issued additional executive orders in 2025 to further strengthen domestic seafood production and aquaculture development, including E.O. 14276, Restoring American Seafood Competitiveness, which reaffirms and expands the Federal commitment to growing the U.S. aquaculture industry and reducing the nation's seafood trade deficit. Together, these executive orders direct NOAA to continue the identification of AOAs across U.S. waters and streamline the processes that support sustainable commercial aquaculture. NOAA also has directives to promote sustainable aquaculture in the U.S., including through the National Aquaculture Act of 1980 and the Department of Commerce (DOC) and NOAA Marine Aquaculture Policies. NOAA has a variety of proven science-based tools and strategies that can support these directives and help communities thoughtfully consider how and where to sustainably develop aquaculture that will complement wild-capture fisheries, working waterfronts, and our nation's seafood processing and distribution infrastructure.

Section 7 of E.O. 13921 directs the Secretary of Commerce to identify AOAs in consultation with the Secretary of Defense, the Secretary of the Interior, the Secretary of Agriculture, the Secretary of Homeland Security, the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, other appropriate Federal officials, and appropriate Regional Fishery Management Councils, and in coordination with appropriate state, jurisdiction and tribal governments. This includes:

1. Within 1 year of the E.O., identify at least two geographic areas containing locations suitable for commercial aquaculture;

2. Within 2 years of identifying each area, complete a National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement (PEIS) for each area to assess the impact of siting aquaculture facilities there;

3. For each of the following 4 years, identify two additional geographic areas containing locations suitable for commercial aquaculture and complete a PEIS for each within 2 years.

Identifying AOAs is an opportunity to use the best available science to support sustainable aquaculture management, and support the "triple bottom line" of environmental, economic, and social sustainability. The areas identified as AOAs are defined geographic areas that NOAA has evaluated through both spatial analysis and a programmatic NEPA process that may be environmentally, economically, and socially suitable to support multiple commercial aquaculture operations.

Identifying AOAs is a planning process. The areas identified as AOAs may be suitable to support aquaculture farms of varying types. Locations for individual operations within an AOA would be considered and evaluated during the permitting process and associated environmental reviews and consultations. Aquaculture operations proposed within an AOA would be subject to the same Federal and state/jurisdiction permitting and authorization requirements as those located elsewhere and would need to comply with all applicable Federal and state laws and regulations.

NOAA has engaged in the science and public based AOA identification process since 2020. Following issuance of E.O. 13921, NOAA utilized a public comment period to solicit public feedback on identifying prospective regions of focus, selecting the Gulf of America and Southern California as the first regions (85 FR 67519, October 23, 2020). On September 19, 2025, NOAA identified 13 AOAs totaling more than 21,000 acres in U.S. Federal waters of the Gulf of America and off Southern California, after the National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science (NCCOS) published AOAs for these regions in November 2021. On February 19, 2026, the NCCOS published an Atlas for Alaska, identifying 77 options (50 to 2,000 acres) for potential AOA identification across 10 study areas in Gulf of Alaska state waters.

AOA Identification Process

NOAA is requesting public input on areas that should be considered nationally for future AOA identification and will use the information received from this RFI to help determine where to focus continued efforts.

To identify AOAs, NOAA will use a combination of spatial mapping approaches, scientific review, public input, and other relevant information. NOAA's National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science will use public input and the best available data to account for key environmental, economic, social, and cultural considerations to identify areas that may support sustainable aquaculture development. NOAA will then combine those results with input from other Federal and state/jurisdictional agencies, Regional Fishery Management Councils, Marine Fisheries Commissions, jurisdictional tribal governments and organizations, and the general public to identify areas that will be considered in more depth through the NEPA process.

Importantly, AOA identification is a planning process and does not, by itself, result in areas permitted for aquaculture. The AOA process is not a required prerequisite to understanding the impacts of aquaculture in a region. The absence of an AOA does not equate with a lack of scientific understanding of aquaculture's impacts in the region. For example, some forms of aquaculture have been practiced in coastal waters for decades, generating a substantial body of peer-reviewed scientific literature, state-level environmental reviews, and site-specific NEPA analyses. Federal agencies including NOAA, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, and the Environmental Protection Agency have conducted and reviewed numerous environmental assessments and environmental impact statements for aquaculture projects in various regions. The AOA process is a planning process and the absence of an AOA in a given region does not preclude aquaculture development there, nor does it indicate that the environmental impacts of aquaculture in that region are unknown or unexamined. The AOA process is designed to proactively identify suitable areas and improve efficiencies for future permitting.

All aquaculture operations are required to comply with applicable Federal and state laws, regulations and authorizations. Further, aquaculture operations proposed within an AOA would have the same Federal and State permitting and authorization requirements as anywhere else. Site-specific environmental surveys may be required for the permitting process. Additional NEPA analysis beyond the PEIS may be necessary as a part of permitting and authorization processes for individual operations. NOAA will work with the Federal agencies responsible for permitting aquaculture ( e.g., the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the Environmental Protection Agency) throughout the AOA identification process to identify information NOAA can include in the PEIS to help inform future permitting needs.

Additional information on AOAs, including frequently asked questions, is available on NOAA's website at: https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/insight/aquaculture-opportunity-areas.

Request for Information

NOAA requests data, comments, views, information, analysis, or suggestions from the public to support the identification of AOAs in U.S. waters, including siting parameters that can be used to select potential areas for further analysis. When providing input, please specify:

• The question number(s) you are responding to;
• The U.S. region(s) to which your comments apply; and

• Whether your comments apply to specific type(s) of aquaculture or gear/structure ( e.g., finfish, shellfish, macroalgae/seaweed, or a combination of species).

Responses to this request are voluntary. Respondents need not reply to all questions.

Input Requested To Inform the Identification of Future AOAs, Nationally

Question 1

What regions of the country should next be considered for future AOAs?

a. New England (Maine through Connecticut).

b. Mid-Atlantic (New York through Virginia).

c. South Atlantic (North Carolina through east coast Florida).

d. U.S. Caribbean (Puerto Rico and U.S. Virgin Islands).

e. Pacific Islands (American Samoa, Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, Guam, Hawaii, and U.S. Pacific Remote Island Areas).

Question 2

Are there specific locations within those regions identified in response to Question 1 that should be considered for future AOAs? Please be as specific as possible and include latitude and longitude or defining landmarks.

Question 3

NOAA is soliciting information on technical siting requirements for aquaculture operations to inform spatial analysis for future AOAs. For the region(s) identified in response to Question 1, please provide:

a. Minimum and maximum depth needed to operate aquaculture farms.

b. Minimum and maximum current conditions that could impact farm operation.

c. Minimum and maximum wave climate that could impact farm operation.

d. Proximity to shore, critical infrastructure and/or coastal communities.

Question 4

Are there specific locations within U.S. waters in your region that should be considered for AOAs? Are there specific locations that should be avoided? Please be as specific as possible and include latitude and longitude or defining landmarks. Please indicate why such areas should be considered or avoided, for example:

a. Favorable biological parameters.

b. Water quality ( e.g., nutrients or other parameters that might make an area favorable or disfavored).

c. Proximity to infrastructure ( e.g., ports, processing plants, hatcheries, or nurseries that could supply seed or fingerlings for grow-out)

d. Relationships to other planned or ongoing activities.

e. Proximity to traditionally and culturally important locations or sacred sites.

f. Presence in or use of an area by protected species ( e.g., large whales, sea turtles, dolphins, sea otters, sea lions, etc. ).

Question 5

Within those regions identified in response to Question 1, what resource use conflicts should be considered as NOAA identifies future AOAs? Please describe specific considerations that might make an area unfavorable, including ongoing or planned activities or ocean uses.

Question 6

Are there size limitations NOAA should consider for AOAs ( e.g., maximum or minimum size)? How many farms should fit within an AOA? Should the size of AOAs be aligned with regional or state/jurisdictional economic development goals for aquaculture?

Question 7

Are there aquaculture species or gear considerations that may result in optimized growth? This might include (but is not limited to): species or aquaculture gear depth thresholds, water current thresholds, temperature thresholds, salinity thresholds, etc. Are there any species or gear not currently being used that you would like to see considered in the future? Please be as specific as possible.

Question 8

Is there ongoing environmental, economic, or social science research that would assist in the identification and implementation of future AOAs? If so, please describe in as much detail as is available.

Question 9

Is there information that may not be readily available or accessible online that would be useful for AOA planning processes in your region? This includes spatial data or Geographic Information System (GIS) layers representing subsistence, environmental, and socioeconomic considerations, or a point of contact for these data, for the following categories:

a. Biophysical/oceanographic (ice cover where applicable, temperature, ocean acidification indices, wave climate, currents, bathymetry).

b. Natural resources (minerals, energy resources, fishes and other aquatic organisms, protected species and habitats, marine mammals, kelp beds, eelgrass beds, coral reefs, biodiversity).

c. Social, historical, and cultural resources (cultural and subsistence harvest, community subsistence activities, culturally important sites).

d. Government boundaries.

e. Industry (fishing, energy production, transportation, communication cables).

f. Military.

g. Navigation.

h. Recreational resources (fishing, hunting, etc. ).

Question 10

Is there any additional information NOAA should consider?

Authority: E.O. 13921 et seq.

[FR Doc. 2026-15435 Filed 7-29-26; 8:45 am]

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